Finding Home Pt. 06

Helen Carlson laughed so hard she was wiping tears from her lovely blue eyes.

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Andy and Alex dressed and headed to the ice. They stretched, and noticed Jeannie Flannery going through her warm ups. Alex called her over. They were standing next to the door to the rink, and Jessica was standing just off the ice with a package in her hand.

"Hey fellas, let's shut these guys down tonight. The stands are packed, and I'm pretty juiced to play. You two ready to roll?" she asked excitedly.

"Jeannie, I am sorry. As things now stand, you cannot skate with us tonight," said Alex soberly.

"What? You're kidding me, right? Andy, he's kidding me? Please, don't do this because I'm a girl, or whatever," she lowered her head and tears filled her eyes. "If you to want to talk Russian, I promise I'll shut up about it."

Alex skated over to her and put his arm around her, "Krasny motornyy chelovek, I am sorry, but you did not listen to me."

She looked up and wiped the tears from her eyes. Her fair face was already blotched with disappointment.

"I said, 'As things now stand,'" he explained. "You cannot skate with Andrew Davidovich and I because you are out of uniform. But my wife, I think, can remedy this."

Jessica handed her the package. She opened it to find a Caps practice jersey, just like the ones Andy and Alex were wearing. The name plate on the back read: 'Flannery,' and had her jersey number '1.' She hugged Alex, then Andy, then Jessica. The joy on her face was unspeakable.

"Please, I think there is more," said Alex.

There was a Fedorov Caps jersey t-shirt in a size small, as well as a Caps jersey t-shirt that had 'Crimson Dynamo' on the back. A Caps ball cap completed the package. She shrieked, and hugged them all again.

"I think Jess would hold them for you until we're done," said Andy. "If you hurry, you can change your jersey."

She handed her new belongings to Jessica, and hurried to change her jersey. Both men expected her to leave the ice, but she motioned to Jessica, and she helped her change rink-side.

Jeannie Flannery, aka The Crimson Dynamo played inspired goal that night. Her best save of the evening came when Andy, Alex, and Cooper were playing the attackers on the odd-man rush drill. Andy dropped a pass for Alex, who then wristed a shot headed for the left top shelf of the goal. In one smooth, lightning-quick move. Jeannie gloved the puck out of the air. The rink erupted in applause. She should have been the talk of the campus the next day.

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Since the rink was packed, Andy and Alex went to the locker room, and quickly showered and changed. They went out to find a grinning and triumphant Jeannie, clad in her Fedorov t-shirt and a Boston Bruins ball cap, talking excitedly with Jessica and Helen. Sara, Kail and Grace were there, listening to the young woman tell the story of her evening. Andy's grandmother was grinning from ear to ear, and Jessica discreetly wiped a tear from her eye.

"Dreamy and AFed, what up my bitches?" yelled Kail as they approached. Both men laughed. Alex and Andy hugged and kissed his respective wife/fiancé, then Helen, then the other's wife/fiancé. Andy then moved to Kail and Grace, hugging both and giving them a kiss on the cheek.

"You couldn't get enough of Special K, could you Dreamy? Why didn't you tell us your grandmother is the OG?" she quipped.

Grace blushed, and said, "Thanks Andy."

"Alex, this young lady has been regaling us with how she stonewalled you on that last play. Apparently, she is a fan of yours and knew from your tendencies where you would try to shoot that puck. She may have a point, you know," said Helen grinning madly.

"Yes, babushka Helen. But what the Krasny motornyy chelovek is too humble to mention is this: knowing where I am going is one thing. Being skilled and fast enough to stop me is quite another. The Crimson Dynamo is both skilled and fast. I will not make the same mistake tomorrow evening," he grinned.

"Baby, you look tired," said Sara.

"I am. Alex and Jeannie make this look easy. Us old Marines can't take it like they can," he said smiling. "Let's go home, Bellissima."

She joined him, and the pair prepared to leave.

"Whoooa there," yelled Kail. "Time out for one freaking second! Dreamy calls Kisses 'Bellissima' and we just walk away. I have no idea what the hell that means, so there's no way I let that fly. What gives Dreamy?"

"It's Italian for 'beautiful,' dear," said Helen. "I think it quite fits. Andrew and Sara, I'm going back in the morning, please come kiss me goodbye." They did so, and lovingly hugged and kissed the family's matriarch.

"Now, Jeannie dear -- Jessica put my card in your package. When you are home next you must call me. I very much want to take you to lunch and hear about how you're doing. You are a wonderful young woman, and I'm quite pleased to know you."

"I will, Mrs. Carlson," Jeannie said.

"Please call me Helen, dear," she replied. Jeannie came and hugged her as well.

"Kail and Grace, you are utterly delightful young women. You simply must come visit the Judge and I in Boston -- in fact -- I'm afraid I must insist upon it. Andrew and Sara have my contact information. They will see that you get it," she hugged and kissed them both, and Andy noted she had a tear in her eye as she did so.

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An exhausted Andy collapsed into bed at 10 PM, and Sara snuggled up to him.

"Baby, I know you're exhausted, but can we talk? So much happened today, and it's a lot to take in," she said.

"I'll tell you what," said Andy, grinning as he said this, "uncover your beautiful breasts for me -- because that will keep me awake, and we can talk."

She punched his arm, "Droobie, we both know that if you see them, we're going to end up with my legs wrapped around your waist as you make love to me," she said huskily.

"Is that such a bad thing?" he asked.

"No baby, it's my favorite thing." She kissed him deeply.

20 minutes later, the lovers lay naked in their bed, glistening in the sweat of their love-making, and talking intimately about the events of their day. As Andy lay on his back with Sara's head on his chest, he could not imagine how it would be physically possible to be happier than he was at that moment. They fell asleep, utterly content.

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At 11 PM, Andy awoke to a banging on the door. He sprang out of bed, threw on boxer briefs, sleep pants and a t-shirt, and opened the biometric box with his Sig in it. Andy inserted the magazine, and chambered a round. He grabbed a tactical flash light off his desk and quickly made his way down the steps. He could see the figure at the door, but they had their back to him, and the lights of the breezeway made it impossible to see much more than a silhouette. He made his way past the first set of doors into the entryway. As the individual turned around, Andy raised the weapon while simultaneously shining the tactical light in their face.

"What can I do for you?" Andy asked in his command voice.

"Andy?" she said, blinded by the tactical light in her face. "It's Shea O'Neill -- coach O'Neill, one of the women's crew coaches. I'm afraid there's been an incident, and well..."

Out of the corner of his eye, Andy could see Kail and Grace standing off to the side. The girls had what looked like overnight bags, and he could tell that both were distressed. Turning off the light, he went to open the door when Sara flew past him out into the breezeway.

15 minutes later, Shea O'Neill had brought Andy up to speed. Kail and Grace had returned to the boathouse to find a male crew member physically assaulting one of the girls on the second eights crew. Not surprisingly, they stepped in. Also, not surprisingly, Kail had studied Ju-Jitsu, and Grace taught self-defense classes through her YMCA back in Buffalo. The assailant, a junior named Chase Patterson, had been kicked in the head by Kail, stabbed repeatedly with a Bic pen by Grace, and then choked out by Kail. Both the attacker and the victim were at the local hospital. The boathouse was a mad house at the moment, and Coach O'Neill was afraid Chase's three crew mates would want to retaliate.

"When I moved in here, Eden mentioned there had been some 'incidents in the boat house,"' said Andy.

"That crew is bad news. They're really good athletes, but wretched human beings. Chase, Blake, Dillon, and Jackson are OK by themselves, but they are toxic together. I figured Dr. Adams would do something when Chase propositioned Eden, and then tried to get physical with her. That dumbass has been kneed twice in the nuts, now. Maybe he'll learn in prison as he's being gang raped in the showers that 'no means no,'" she grinned. "They're the opposite of the Misfits. Those girls are way stronger together than they are alone. They make each other better by half."

"And listen, Andy. They may be skittish around you. I hate to ask, but I know your family has a place nearby. Staying there tonight might be best," she said carefully.

"I call bullshit," interjected Kail, who had overheard the last part of the conversation. "Dreamy is Kisses' man. He's our bitch. If Dreamy leaves, we're leaving too," she said matter of factly.

Coach O'Neill laughed. "OK, Kail. Far be it from me to interrupt the inner workings of the Misfits. It's late and I need to get back to the boathouse."

"Thanks coach," said Andy.

She turned to go, and then stopped and turned around. "Hey Andy, one more thing. Is that gun loaded?"

"Not much using having it if it isn't," he paused. "Good thing you didn't have to find out," he said flatly, and then grinned at her.

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Inside, Andy and Sara huddled together to form a game plan, both girls were in shock, though not severely. A shower would help, and Andy would get them both a shot of bourbon. For his part, he was going to change, and sit up just in case the three remaining stooges tried to seek their revenge. The three women could sleep upstairs, he'd do fine on the main floor.

20 minutes later, all four sat on the sectional, with Grace nursing her bourbon. Andy had gotten a couple of ice cubes for her, which seemed to make it more amenable. Kail had simply polished hers off in one swig, exclaiming, "Damn Dreamy, that's some good shit. Why you holding out on your girl Special K? Next thing I know you're going to tell me you've got a humidor, too."             

Andy laid out the plan for the evening, and noticed that Kail and Grace were hesitant. "Andy," said Grace. "Not to sound like a girl, but we'd rather be where you are if those guys show up. We can lie here on the sectional, if that's OK."

"Damn skippy," said Kail. "You and Kisses can snuggle up, and we'll make room. Sleeping in a bed by myself is no Bueno right now. You feel me?"

Andy laughed, and Sara giggled. "OK, fair enough. Why don't the three of you grab some pillows and blankets and you can get settled here. I'll sit up, and you can sleep."

As Kail and Grace headed upstairs, Andy and Sara shared a hug. "Thank you, baby," she whispered.

He smiled at her, "This is how we do us," he replied. "And Sara Gina Jones-Easley -- soon to be DeGroat? I love that, and I love you."

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Andy sat in the middle of the sectional. Sara was sitting up as well, leaning against him. Kail had her pillow near Andy's lap, and Grace did the same with Sara. As they settled in, Sara whispered to him, "Baby, you haven't sung for me today."

Andy cleared his voice and began to sing softly, Some day when I'm awfully low /and the world is cold / I will feel a glow just thinking of you / and the way you look, tonight.

Sara snuggled into his shoulder. Before he could start the second verse, Kail spoke up.

"Hey Andy? Do you sing to my girl every night?"

"I do -- or at least I'm supposed to," he chuckled. "There's been some shit going on today, however -- so I'm a bit behind."

"It's really nice. Sara showed us the video of you and your friend. You guys are good. It's too bad a freak like me will never find a guy like you."

"You're not a freak," said Andy quietly. "You and Grace are remarkably brave. So are Eden and Sara. Your teammate owes you a debt she can never repay. What the two of you did is amazing."

"Yeah, the 6'2" chick who knows Ju Jitsu is not a freak," Kail said, and then she began to cry softly. "Why are you so nice to us, Andy? Sara loves you, so you don't have to be nice to us. You guys could just go and live your beautiful people lives, and not have Brunhilda and the Asian Math Wiz as baggage."

"Kail. I need you to listen to me very carefully, because I'm only saying this once. If I were not head over heels in love with Sara, I would be trying to figure out how to ask you and Grace out at the same time. You two are beautiful and smart and kind and amazing. I'd be a scumbag for doing it, but damned if I would not try. I'm sorry that you've been around asshat males who can't get their shit together. Sara loves you both, so that makes you family. Family doesn't bail on family -- we handle our shit, we love each other, and we move on. You are two of the most amazing women I've ever met, and Kail you best believe that I'd be trying to seduce you tonight if Sara was not the love of my life. Is that clear enough?"

Softly, she asked, "Seriously? I'd have a shot with you if Sara wasn't around? You'd actually date Gracie and I?"

Andy responded with a song, O Brunhilda you're so lovely.

Kail laughed, and picked up the response, Yes, I know it, I can't help it.

Andy finished with his best Elmer Fudd operatic flourish, O Brunhilda be my wuv.

The whole couch burst into laughter. After a time, Kail lay back down, and Andy reached over and stroked her hair as he sang Sara, "The Way You Look Tonight."